How Alabama photographer, Amanda Chapman, found comfort in 31 Days of Halloween

Amanda’s love of Halloween was celebrated at Christmas with Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas

Alabama photographer Amanda Chapman’s world changed dramatically in 2012 when her husband Greg was diagnosed with cancer. Scared about the future of her family, she turned to her favorite holiday, Halloween to lighten the mood that had overtaken her that year.

Amanda and Greg Chapman

How the 31 Days of Halloween Came to Life

Amanda has always loved Halloween and in September 30, 2012 she decided to celebrate it in a way that she hadn’t before in order to help her family get through her husband’s diagnosis and treatment. That year, she began creating her favorite Halloween characters daily and posting them on social media. That first year launched what would become her five-year critically acclaimed series the ‘31 Days of Halloween.’

One of Amanda’s favorite characters is Edward Scissorhands

Through her creativity and visual arts talent, Amanda was able to bring her favorite ghouls, goblins, witches and zombies to life each day. Her creations didn’t go unnoticed, after posting her first few photos, she had fans flocking daily to her social media pages looking for her next creation. The actors and characters she was portraying in her photos also began commenting and complimenting her on her transformation on social media.

Amanda Chapman and her family spent Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts last year.

I was an early fan of her 31 Days of Halloween series because like Amanda, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I waited impatiently everyday to see her next creation, and although she is not currently continuing her daily series, she does resurrect personal and fan favorites during the month of October. Amanda’s talent is incredible and her transformation is uncanny and so realistic it makes you do a double take. Amanda has her favorite characters she likes to recreate from The Walking Dead and Tim Burton films.

“Characters that I dearly love inspired most of the makeup. I’m a huge fan of horror movies as well as Tim Burton films and The Walking Dead, said Amanda Chapman, owner, Amanda Chapman Photography. “Each character varies in the time that it takes to complete the entire look. The Mad Hatter, for instance, took about an hour last year’s Walking Dead inspired zombie took about 3-4 hours. Getting the shot is somewhat time consuming as well. Self-portraits are not the easiest thing to accomplish and in this case, since I’m portraying another character, I have to try and capture their personality as well.”

Amanda Chapman’s Pinhead took seven hours to create.

“I am often asked how long it takes to transform myself, and I usually answer, it depends on how elaborate the makeup is,” said Amanda Chapman, owner Amanda Chapman Photography. “My Pinhead recreation using SFX makeup took seven plus hours to create.”

Amanda Chapman took a break from her 31 Days of Halloween series to spend Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts in 2017

Her series over the years has received national recognition and she has won a number of awards for the way she uses makeup and her designs. She also has been interviewed by the media about her series. In 2017 when her husband found out he was in remission, Amanda took a break from the 31 days series to spend Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts.

Here’s Amanda attending the Walker Stalker convention in Atlanta as a Zombie

The ‘31 Days of Halloween’ series is still on hiatus, but Amanda is still posting her favorite looks from the five-year series. Below are some of our favorites.

We have two favorites from 2016 Medusa and Michael Jackson by Amanda Chapman

We have two favorites from 2016. Michael Jackson’s Thriller by Amanda Chapman

Where to Find the Five-Year Series

Amanda’s full five-year series can be found on her Facebook and Instagram pages. Her makeup tutorials can be found on her Youtube channel. She also offers Halloween costume photography sessions during the month of October.

Note: Amanda Chapman is a well-sought after photographer and SFX makeup artist from the Shoals area in Northwest Alabama. She began her photography career in 2007 when she photographed Grammy winner and Alabama native Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.